randombirder

Seeing the year out at Rainham Marshes on a cool winters day with the sun shining and the breeze blowing was a perfect way of ending a year that has been a bit of a struggle.  Was thrilled to have bumped into @dhpainter and Steff where we took to prizing out as much as we could on the eve of a new year. Keen to catch up with the Dartford Warbler , and after a short vigil, the male bird appeared in the bramble closest to the gate by the conservation area and showed reasonably well for around 20 minutes in the company of a pair of Stonechat of which there were plenty dotted around the reserve. A Barn Owl was seen distantly sitting in the box, but against the sun, views weren't ideal. A short heavy shower passed through while we sat in the shooting butts hide where two Water Pipit alighted from the scrape before circling, where one returned allowing decent views from where we were sat. Moving on post-rainstorm, the skies cleared, but the wind had picked up. ...

Spent an enjoyable day at Tring Reservoirs in the company of the irrepressible @ianbennell75 whom I hadn't seen since since birding was just an embarrassing pastime.  Now of course it's the coolest thing ever (geek=cool). So while shooting the breeze on a lovely sunny day tempered only by a cool shooting breeze, we meandered round picking off what was available which wasn't a great deal, while filling in the gaps of twenty odd years past. The water levels at Wilstone were the lowest I had ever seen it during my six and a half years living in Tring, a little surprising considering the amount of rainfall that other parts of the country are continuing to experience.  A crazy situation. Best was a 1st winter Scaup on Startops that appears to be developing nicely into adulthood.  A female Red-Crested Pochard roosted on the bank of the island at Wilstone where a pair of Goldeneye were present along with eight Golden Plover in with the Lapwing , a flyover Buzz...

A really fantastic day in Norfolk again - much cooler than of late, high cloud and that light that I keep going on about.  The sun - hanging low in the sky and peeking through the clouds like a nosey neighbour through the venetian blinds. Plenty of highlights today: Golden Pheasant - a new bird - seen at Wolverton Triangle and snapped through the back window of the car as it crept along the verge before disappearing into the thickets. Pallid Harrier - cracking views through the hide at Abbey Farm.  A stunning bird that has been present now for a while, posing in front of the hide with frequent sorties around the pastures.  At one point it sat out on the field observing a rabbit kill by a resident Stoat.  A wonderful moment of nature to witness.  This was my 2nd for the UK and 3rd for the WP. Rough-legged Buzzard - found this bird at Holkham Freshmarsh.  Having arrived five minutes too late for the Red-Rumped Sw...

So that's Christmas over for another year.  Presents opened, crackers pulled, the turkey demolished, and before we know it, we're tucking into the surplus of the previous day.  It all felt rather subdued this year.  I'm not sure why, but family time is valuable time, and I am grateful for this. However, a day spent indoors and I was itching to get out in the morning.  Surprisingly I felt rather energised despite the sloth of the previous day so decided to head down the road to Brent Reservoir to try my luck for the unseasonal Yellow-browed Warbler that had been present for a few days. Having lived near Watford for twenty-nine years, it was a little curious that I had never made a visit there.  The habitat looks great and there was plenty of wildfowl on the Marsh. I headed over to the its favoured location behind Heron Hide and waited.  A few of the local birders were present for a while but decided to move on.  I was now on full sensory alert. ...

Trips to Norfolk are a real joy.  Opting to head north rather than do battle with the multitudes of Christmas shoppers, I chose wisely.  Not that today was a rip-roaring success, trips to Norfolk don't have to be.  Just being here is enough to satisfy that longing for escape. There were a few things I wanted to see and while it didn't all go to plan, it was a good day.  That said, the wind was a little keen, particularly in the morning at Choseley Drying Barns where a single juvenile Rough-legged Buzzard was seen stalling on the wind, and a brutish female Peregrine was in pursuit of a Marsh Harrier that was just going about its business.  The breeze had me leaning sideways. The wind did not abate, and a walk round Holme Dunes was a challenge but worth the effort for the three Shore Lark that were present along the beach on the retreating tide. At Brancaster Harbour, the Red-necked Grebe was still present, but remained distant and frequent...

Maybe I just need to acknowledge that I am not a child anymore.  In fact 25 years have passed where that would legally apply but you know, when it comes to Christmas, there is something inside us that just wants to re-ignite that warm fuzzy feeling of Christmas past, the excitement of a hallowed season and of unconstrained excess. I'm not the only one that feels that 2015 has just flashed past, I thought that it was an age thing but I actually think that time is speeding up, just no one has been bothered to, well, time it. And so, we are once again thrust into the festive period, that commercially started around mid-September, whether we liked it or not.  I personally like to embrace such things, moreover, I was born in a Christian home and spent a large part of my life serving within the Christian church.  Times now are a little different, but I still possess what is left of the spirit and of the Christmas message. It's just that this year, I'm not feeling it at al...

Back again to where I spent a total of 12 years in my youth.  Stockers Lake.  And I love this place. It was a dull day, really dull that started off with heavy rain which thankfully cleared within half an hour of arriving. Sightings are as follows: Goosander - A lovely drake.  Amazing how it seems to glow in the gloom.  Stunning bird. Red-Crested Pochard - impressive numbers.  13 in total including 10 drakes. Wigeon - 15+ Goldeneye - single female (come on fellas). Lapwing - 25 sat on the island. Greater Black Backed Gull - 1 adult Siskin - 50+ in and around the alders I then walked from Stockers along the canal and onto the Ebury Way. Siskin - another 50+ along the track. Redpoll - 3 flew over. Chiffchaff - in with a small group of titmice. Goldcrest - a total of 5 seen along the path. Shoveler - 5 on one of the fishing lakes.

This bird was hilarious.  First seen distantly toward the back of the lake, I thought that's all I would get, decent scope views but nothing more.  But this creature moves by stealth. Once the bird dives, it is then a matter of pure guesswork as to where it would resurface.  And it was normally further away than anticipated. So it wasn't long before the Diver had made its way from the far side and into the small bay by the foreshore.  A real treat to see it close in where it preened for a few minutes, stretched it's wings, and performed some interesting moves.

It was again a beautiful, cool, still morning at the Waterworks and with plenty of interest on and over the reserve. On Bed 18, a personal best count of 12 Shoveler were in company with six Gadwall , four Tufted Duck , and two Little Grebe .  Three Goldcrest and two Chiffchaff remained in the bushes along the main path.  A Reed Bunting was present in the reeds. A flyover Jackdaw was again a scarce sighting with other skyward sightings that included two Skylark , three Stock Dove , two Little Egret , ten Fieldfare , seven Greater Black Backed Gull , single Sparrowhawk (that was in an intense battle with a corvid), and an adult Peregrine that flew onto its favoured pylon.

Today was the calm after the storm and there were reasonable hopes for finding a 'wrecked' seabird on our local.  Well inevitably this never transpired, but it was a stunning morning nevertheless, hardly a breath of wind and the blue skies were textured with patches of high cloud. I concentrated solely on the south side where the first sightings were of Fieldfare , small flocks totalling 50+ passing overhead.   Common Gull were now present in good numbers with many 1st winters accompanying the adult birds. Passing along the banks of East Wawrick, three Lapwing alighted from the island and circled the reservoir before heading north where they were later observed over Lockwood.  My first Goldeneye of the winter was present, with a sole female there. On West Warwick, a female Stonechat appeared from the reedbed, and a pair were later seen on East Warwick.  An Aythya hybrid was also on West Warwick, and appeared to be the same bird that has been present on the...

A very dull day on the reserve where the most notable sighting were of 30+ Magpie passing through the treeline at the back of the Beds. Three Goldcrest and a single Chiffchaff were present as was the calling Cetti's Warbler . The interesting ' Aythya ' hybrid was still associating with it's bona-fide peers on bed 18. 'Aythya' hybrid

Routine fare today in dull conditions but with a good selection of birds on the reserve and overhead. A count of the wildfowl across the Beds yielded 17 Gadwall , 23 Teal , five Pochard , four Tufted Duck , and seven Shoveler . A single Redpoll flew past Bed 16 as did a couple of Stock Dove .  A Snipe roosted at the back of Bed 16 at the edge of the reedbed. A Cetti's Warbler called and a Water Rail squealed almost simultaneously.  There were eight Common Gull passing through over the reserve along with eight Meadow Pipit .

It took three trips to see the Crag Martin , but ultimately it was worth the effort as this rare vagrant dashed around the Parish Church in Chesterfield.  The church itself provided a wonderful backdrop for a particularly bizarre sighting of this hirundine. Having failed to see it on Monday and Wednesday, I was relieved to catch up with the turbo-charged Martin as it whizzed back, forth, and around the spire providing the onlookers with an impressive aerobatic display. For me it was an agonising week having had two failures, but these are the obvious pitfalls of twitching which I have somehow been drawn into over the last couple of years.  I am enjoying seeing new things, but I still harbour a few questions inside me of why exactly I am doing this. Numbers, lists, competition, credibility, position, all play a part.  I was once scathing of twitching in my youth, now look at me.  Three trips of three hour single journeys to see one bird. I am not sure...